UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher’s Name: Miss Candow Lesson #: 3 Facet: Organize Grade Level: 11-12 Numbers of Days: 2-3 Topic: Tone and Mood in Narrative Writing
PART I:
Objectives Students will understand that word choice and specific details set and alter narrative tone. Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time. Students will be able to illustrate narrative tones through specific word choice.
Product: Digital Image
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards Content Area: English Grade Level: Grade 11-12 Domain: Writing Cluster: Text Types and Purposes Standards: 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Rationale: Through several exercises the teacher will be focusing on precise words and diction and how these well-chosen details create and alter narrative tone.
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning) Section I – checking for understanding strategy during instruction To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a light or dark feel. Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher) Students will self-evaluate their digital image using a checklist, checking for things such as whether or not they are using descriptive wording that aligns with the feeling they are trying to convey. The teacher will be using a checklist with a comment section.
Summative (Assessment of Learning): Digital Imaging - Students will pick a feeling and create a typographical digital image that conveys this feeling. All of the components, including words, color, and overall picture should reflect the feeling being displayed.
Integration Technology (SAMR): Students will be using a digital drawing tool or app, such as MS Paint, to create their digital images. Many of the art program tools help this reach the Augmentation level of the SAMR model.
Art: Students will be making an art project for their assessment.
Groupings Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction Students will use a word web to connect certain words with different feelings. We will be filling these out as a class, as part of the cooperative learning exercise. Students will participate in popcorn sharing, in which the teacher will give a feeling and they will supply different words that invoke that feeling. They should write down the feeling and words on their word web graphic organizer. Section II – Groups and Roles for Product On their own, students will choose a feeling and create a digital image using different words to try and evoke that feeling. There are no specific group roles for this project, but they will have an in-class work day where I will allow them to talk with their neighbors to gain inspiration.
Differentiated Instruction MI Strategies Verbal: Five minute essay exercise wherein students will be given a scene and should try to use descriptive words to alter tone (e.g. using words with good vs. bad connotations) Logic: Word web will be used to organize a variety of feelings/tones and words with connotations that fit the broader topics. Visual: The assessment for this lesson is a digital typographical image using different words to evoke a certain feeling. Musical: The hook involves discussions of music and how certain songs invoke different feelings. Intrapersonal: This lesson's assessment is to be done individually, given students to reflect on their interpretations of tones/feelings and convey them in an artistic manner. Interpersonal: Popcorn sharing in which students call on other students to continue sharing gets the whole class involved in a singular activity. Naturalist: The scene used in the verbal activity will be connected to nature.
Modifications/Accommodations From IEP’s (Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students: See the paragraph on the syllabus. If students are absent for the whole lesson, they will be expected to find a time to meet with me so I can give them the basics of what they've missed. Students will have to independently finish any in-class work. They will have extra time (of a length discussed with me) to complete the assessment.
Extensions Technology (SAMR): If students were to draw something first on paper and scan it/take a picture of it to use as a canvas instead of starting from scratch on the drawing app, this could bring it to the modification level. Working with a collaborative drawing app can bring it to redefinition.
Gifted Students: Gifted students can post their artwork on a social media platform (such as Facebook, Twitter, or DeviantArt), allowing others to see and comment on their creative work. If there are any local art shows going around, students could submit their artwork. If not, as a class we could potentially put on our own art show.
Materials, Resources and Technology Laptops/iPads Pencils/Paper Word Web Handout Copy of the “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (1-2 pages)
The class will be arranged with students sitting in groups of four. This easily allows them to collaborate for cooperative learning, and in groups when needed.
Agenda (include days and times)
Day One:
Begin Lesson with short discussion hook - 10 Minutes
Hand out and read “The Tell-Tale Heart” individually - 15 minutes
Discuss narrative tone and mood in relation to TTTH - 55 Minutes
Assignments: Work on final narrative project for independent critique workshop
Day Two: Popcorn Activity/Graphic Organizer - 20 Minutes Five Minute Essay + Share time - 25 minutes Introduce assessment, give students links to possible drawing applications/tutorials - 10 minutes
Give students time to explore and learn drawing software – 25 minutes
Day Three:
Work day for students, giving them time to learn the software, begin to create their digital images - 80 minutes.
Assignment: Finish Digital Image (This may be altered depending on where students are in the process at the end of the class. Time might be extended.)
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Include all hyperlinks of the above URL's in this section.)
Students will understand that word choice and specific details set and alter narrative tone. Understanding the tone and connotations of certain words can help you avoid misunderstandings in social interactions. Common Core Standards are: 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. c.Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. As a hook, the class will have a brief discussion on tone and mood in music. The teacher will play a clip of a happy song, asking students to write down what makes it happy. Students will then think about other happy songs that fit the criteria they wrote. Time allowing, this process will repeat with a sad song. The teacher will then explain how this relates to narrative writing and how tone and mood can be conveyed.
Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time. See content notes for further details. Students will use a word web to connect certain words with different feelings. This will be connected to the cooperative learning activity, as students should write down the examples given by other students. Students will participate in popcorn sharing, in which I will give a feeling and they will supply different words that invoke that feeling. For example, if I were to give the word “Fearful”, students might supply words like “dark,” “threatening,” or “eerie.” Students should then write down some of these examples on their word web. To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a “light” or “dark” feel. For example, I might ask them to describe a natural scene, providing only basic setting, such as “a location in the forest, with a lake.” Students will describe the forest in more specific detail (such as the trees, the lake, the atmosphere as a whole, the time of day, etc.). Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Students will be able to illustrate narrative tones through specific word choice. They will be creating a digital typographical image in which they will use words to create a picture, designed to evoke a certain feeling. They will be using digital imaging software, such as MS Paint, Paintbrush for Macs, or GIMP (a free photo editing and drawing software, similar to photoshop). Tutorials for MS Paint can be found here. Paintbrush tutorials can be found here. GIMP tutorials can be found here and here. Students are completing this project on their own, but during their work day are encouraged to gain inspiration from other students.
They will be self-assessing their projects using a checklist, and determining for themselves how their project is going.
During their work day, the teacher will be walking around offering feedback to students as they are working. The teacher will be using a checklist, primarily looking to see if students have accurately conveyed a single mood. There will also be a comment section, where the teacher can comment on student work ethic during the work period, as well as how effective the student is in conveying their chosen mood. This lesson relates to their final project, in that they will be expected to have some sort of narrative tone present in their final narrative piece.
Evaluate, Tailors: Kinesthetic, Verbal/Linguistic
Teacher Content Notes
Students will know:
Diction - The style of writing determined by the author’s word choice. Words should be used correctly, make sense in context of the writing, and be easily understandable to readers. The message and meaning should be clear through proper diction, which results in no unintentional misunderstandings. Authors use diction to convey literary tones and mood.
Tone - The attitude of a writer towards a subject or audience. The manner in which an author approaches theme also sets the tone. Tones can be formal, informal, sad, cheerful, etc.. Any attitude can be conveyed as literary tone. Tone tells the readers how they should interpret a literary work, and how they should feel about it. It also creates a mood.
Mood - A literary element that evokes certain feelings in readers, through words and descriptions. Mood is created through setting, tone, and diction. Mood helps emotionally attach readers to the literary work, and can help them fully understand the message being conveyed.
Setting creates mood through connotations of different physical settings. Sun v. Rain, Day v. Night, and Winter v. Summer.
Tone also creates mood in that tone itself is an emotional attitude, designed to create emotions in the readers. If the writer approaches the theme or subject cheerfully, it sets a cheerful mood.
Diction can be used to create mood through word choice and syntax.
Voice - The form/format through which a narrator tells a story. Voice shows the readers whose eyes they are seeing the narrative through, and gives personality. It can also help readers determine the reliability or a narrator. Types of voice include:
Author’s Voice - The style an author uses in a particular piece of writing
Character’s Voice - The main character’s voice, how they view the world. Can be used in first or third person.
Unreliable Voice - Unreliable and biased, may try to deceive readers. Told in first person, often talking directly at readers. Similar to unreliable narrator.
Epistolary Voice - A series of documents (letters, diary entries, etc) compiled together to form a story. May use the voices of multiple people, and may not have a narrator at all.
Day one will be the bulk of the lesson. It will begin with a hook, discussing mood and tone in music. Students will then read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and make any annotations as they are reading, though this is not required. I have attached my own annotated copy. The teacher will be discussing the literary elements listed above in context of the Edgar Allan Poe story (and possibly Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find). This Schmoop article can be useful in guiding discussion.
Day two will be focused on students exploring the material. They will participate in a popcorn sharing exercise as well as filling out a graphic organizer. They will also be participating in a 5 minute essay to check for understanding, and will have time to share if they so desire. The teacher will then introduce the summative assessment for this lesson and introduce them to some digital drawing software. Students will then have time to explore the software and begin organizing their thoughts on how they would like to do the project.
Day three will be devoted to the assessment. Students will then have the entire of the class period to explore the drawing applications and begin working on their digital images. The teacher should be walking around, making sure students are staying on task. At the end of this lesson, students will fill out their checklists, and based on where everyone in the class is, the official due date of the project will be set.
Handouts
Word Web Organizers
Copies of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will have instructions explaining what I am looking for in their digital imaging. One of the topics being focused on is diction, a literary device that is focused on attention to detail. The discussion on “The Tell-Tale Heart” will be primarily teacher-driven, as these students prefer teacher-directed discussion.
Microscope: Students will be given the chance to read and annotate “The Tell-Tale Heart” on their own, allowing them to search through the material before it is discussed as a class. They will also be working on the assessment on their own, allowing them to work out what they want to do without the pressure of a group.
Puppy: This whole lesson focuses on feelings and emotions, something the puppy students relate to heavily. There will also be teacher-led class discussions, and a popcorn cooperative learning activity, where students can bounce ideas off of each other. Despite the assessment being completed individually, the students will have an opportunity during the work day to discuss the project with their peers and work on it in a social setting.
Beach Ball: The assessment for this lesson is completely up to the student’s imagination, despite having a checklist to follow. It is up to the student’s interpretation on how they want to convey emotion through a typographical image. They also have a chance to read “The Tell-Tale Heart” and interpret it how they see fit, which they can then share with the rest of the class during the discussion.
Rationale: It is important to consider a variety of learners in the classroom, and to be able to adhere to each of them in some way. Group discussions and working in a social setting allows students to foster social interactions and engage with their peers. Understanding feelings and emotion in literary works will help students understand the importance of conveying meaning without misunderstanding.
Standard 6 -Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative:
Section I – checking for understanding strategy during instruction
To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a light or dark feel. Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
Students will self-evaluate their digital image using a checklist, checking for things such as whether or not they are using descriptive wording that aligns with the feeling they are trying to convey. The teacher will be using a checklist with a comment section.
Summative:
Digital Imaging - Students will pick a feeling and create a typographical digital image that conveys this feeling. All of the components, including words, color, and overall picture should reflect the feeling being displayed.
Rationale: The five minute essay will allow students to display their understanding in a written and creative setting, not just listing what they have learned. They will also be able to self-assess giving them a level of responsibility for their own learning. The final assessment will prove that they understand that different words provoke different moods and tones.
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time.
MLR or CCSS or NGSS
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: Grade 11-12
Domain: Writing
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
Standards:3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Facet: Organize
Rationale: Students will understand how diction and word choice create and alter narrative tone and mood, and will be able to display that knowledge in a piece of typographical artwork. Students will be able to literally illustrate a mood using various fitting words.
Standard 8 -Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: Five minute essay exercise wherein students will be given a scene and should try to use descriptive words to alter tone (e.g. using words with good vs. bad connotations)
Logic: Word web will be used to organize a variety of feelings/tones and words with connotations that fit the broader topics.
Visual: The assessment for this lesson is a digital typographical image using different words to evoke a certain feeling.
Musical: The hook involves discussions of music and how certain songs invoke different feelings.
Intrapersonal: This lesson's assessment is to be done individually, given students to reflect on their interpretations of tones/feelings and convey them in an artistic manner.
Interpersonal: Popcorn sharing in which students call on other students to continue sharing gets the whole class involved in a singular activity.
Naturalist: The scene used in the verbal activity will be connected to nature.
SAMR: Students will be using a digital drawing tool or app, such as MS Paint, to create their digital images. Many of the art program tools help this reach the Augmentation level of the SAMR model.
Rationale: The content will reach each of the multiple intelligences in some way, allowing students to have a variety of connections to the learning material. Students will be introduced to digital imaging software and will get a chance to explore creating digital artwork.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: Students will be fostering creativity by creating pieces of digital artwork. Students will gain an understanding of how precise diction can help to avoid misunderstandings in their day-to-day lives. Students will be given the chance to work on their individual projects in a social setting, allowing them to gain inspiration from their peers.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: Students will be using digital imaging software to create their artwork. They will be choosing the mood for their project on their own, and will be self-assessing themselves. Students will be exposed to many different learning styles and intelligences designed to reach a variety of students. The formative assessments will allow the teacher to see where students are in their understanding of the content.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher’s Name: Miss Candow Lesson #: 3 Facet: Organize
Grade Level: 11-12 Numbers of Days: 2-3
Topic: Tone and Mood in Narrative Writing
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that word choice and specific details set and alter narrative tone.
Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time.
Students will be able to illustrate narrative tones through specific word choice.
Product: Digital Image
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: Grade 11-12
Domain: Writing
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
Standards: 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Rationale:
Through several exercises the teacher will be focusing on precise words and diction and how these well-chosen details create and alter narrative tone.
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding strategy during instruction
To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a light or dark feel. Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
Students will self-evaluate their digital image using a checklist, checking for things such as whether or not they are using descriptive wording that aligns with the feeling they are trying to convey. The teacher will be using a checklist with a comment section.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Digital Imaging - Students will pick a feeling and create a typographical digital image that conveys this feeling. All of the components, including words, color, and overall picture should reflect the feeling being displayed.
Integration
Technology (SAMR):
Students will be using a digital drawing tool or app, such as MS Paint, to create their digital images. Many of the art program tools help this reach the Augmentation level of the SAMR model.
Art: Students will be making an art project for their assessment.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
Students will use a word web to connect certain words with different feelings. We will be filling these out as a class, as part of the cooperative learning exercise. Students will participate in popcorn sharing, in which the teacher will give a feeling and they will supply different words that invoke that feeling. They should write down the feeling and words on their word web graphic organizer.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
On their own, students will choose a feeling and create a digital image using different words to try and evoke that feeling. There are no specific group roles for this project, but they will have an in-class work day where I will allow them to talk with their neighbors to gain inspiration.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: Five minute essay exercise wherein students will be given a scene and should try to use descriptive words to alter tone (e.g. using words with good vs. bad connotations)
Logic: Word web will be used to organize a variety of feelings/tones and words with connotations that fit the broader topics.
Visual: The assessment for this lesson is a digital typographical image using different words to evoke a certain feeling.
Musical: The hook involves discussions of music and how certain songs invoke different feelings.
Intrapersonal: This lesson's assessment is to be done individually, given students to reflect on their interpretations of tones/feelings and convey them in an artistic manner.
Interpersonal: Popcorn sharing in which students call on other students to continue sharing gets the whole class involved in a singular activity.
Naturalist: The scene used in the verbal activity will be connected to nature.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s (Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
See the paragraph on the syllabus. If students are absent for the whole lesson, they will be expected to find a time to meet with me so I can give them the basics of what they've missed. Students will have to independently finish any in-class work. They will have extra time (of a length discussed with me) to complete the assessment.
Extensions
Technology (SAMR):
If students were to draw something first on paper and scan it/take a picture of it to use as a canvas instead of starting from scratch on the drawing app, this could bring it to the modification level. Working with a collaborative drawing app can bring it to redefinition.
Gifted Students:
Gifted students can post their artwork on a social media platform (such as Facebook, Twitter, or DeviantArt), allowing others to see and comment on their creative work.
If there are any local art shows going around, students could submit their artwork. If not, as a class we could potentially put on our own art show.
Materials, Resources and Technology
Laptops/iPads
Pencils/Paper
Word Web Handout
Copy of the “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
Source for Lesson Plan and Research
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/cluster.pdf
Word Web Handout
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/poe/telltale.html
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
http://www.shmoop.com/tell-tale-heart/literary-devices.html
Schmoop analysis of TTTH
http://literarydevices.net/
All definitions can be found here.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-paint#1TC=windows-8
MS Paint Tutorial
http://paintbrush.sourceforge.net/
Paintbrush for Mac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVbfjPmIzHc
Paintbrush Tutorial
https://www.gimp.org/
GIMP art program
https://www.gimp.org/tutorials/
Tutorials for GIMP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7F1MwEOf1E
Video Tutorial for GIMP
PART II:
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (1-2 pages)
The class will be arranged with students sitting in groups of four. This easily allows them to collaborate for cooperative learning, and in groups when needed.
Agenda (include days and times)
Day One:
Begin Lesson with short discussion hook - 10 Minutes
Hand out and read “The Tell-Tale Heart” individually - 15 minutes
Discuss narrative tone and mood in relation to TTTH - 55 Minutes
Assignments: Work on final narrative project for independent critique workshop
Day Two:
Popcorn Activity/Graphic Organizer - 20 Minutes
Five Minute Essay + Share time - 25 minutes
Introduce assessment, give students links to possible drawing applications/tutorials - 10 minutes
Give students time to explore and learn drawing software – 25 minutes
Day Three:
Work day for students, giving them time to learn the software, begin to create their digital images - 80 minutes.
Assignment: Finish Digital Image (This may be altered depending on where students are in the process at the end of the class. Time might be extended.)
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Include all hyperlinks of the above URL's in this section.)
Students will understand that word choice and specific details set and alter narrative tone. Understanding the tone and connotations of certain words can help you avoid misunderstandings in social interactions. Common Core Standards are: 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. c.Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. As a hook, the class will have a brief discussion on tone and mood in music. The teacher will play a clip of a happy song, asking students to write down what makes it happy. Students will then think about other happy songs that fit the criteria they wrote. Time allowing, this process will repeat with a sad song. The teacher will then explain how this relates to narrative writing and how tone and mood can be conveyed.
Where, Why, What, Hook Tailors: Verbal/Linguistic, Musical, Interpersonal
Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time. See content notes for further details. Students will use a word web to connect certain words with different feelings. This will be connected to the cooperative learning activity, as students should write down the examples given by other students. Students will participate in popcorn sharing, in which I will give a feeling and they will supply different words that invoke that feeling. For example, if I were to give the word “Fearful”, students might supply words like “dark,” “threatening,” or “eerie.” Students should then write down some of these examples on their word web. To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a “light” or “dark” feel. For example, I might ask them to describe a natural scene, providing only basic setting, such as “a location in the forest, with a lake.” Students will describe the forest in more specific detail (such as the trees, the lake, the atmosphere as a whole, the time of day, etc.). Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Equip, Explore, Rethink, Tailors: Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalist, Logic/Mathematic
Students will be able to illustrate narrative tones through specific word choice. They will be creating a digital typographical image in which they will use words to create a picture, designed to evoke a certain feeling. They will be using digital imaging software, such as MS Paint, Paintbrush for Macs, or GIMP (a free photo editing and drawing software, similar to photoshop). Tutorials for MS Paint can be found here. Paintbrush tutorials can be found here. GIMP tutorials can be found here and here. Students are completing this project on their own, but during their work day are encouraged to gain inspiration from other students.
They will be self-assessing their projects using a checklist, and determining for themselves how their project is going.
Experience, Revise, Refine, Tailors: Verbal/Linguistic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Visual/Spatial
During their work day, the teacher will be walking around offering feedback to students as they are working. The teacher will be using a checklist, primarily looking to see if students have accurately conveyed a single mood. There will also be a comment section, where the teacher can comment on student work ethic during the work period, as well as how effective the student is in conveying their chosen mood. This lesson relates to their final project, in that they will be expected to have some sort of narrative tone present in their final narrative piece.
Evaluate, Tailors: Kinesthetic, Verbal/Linguistic
Teacher Content Notes
Students will know:
Diction - The style of writing determined by the author’s word choice. Words should be used correctly, make sense in context of the writing, and be easily understandable to readers. The message and meaning should be clear through proper diction, which results in no unintentional misunderstandings. Authors use diction to convey literary tones and mood.
Tone - The attitude of a writer towards a subject or audience. The manner in which an author approaches theme also sets the tone. Tones can be formal, informal, sad, cheerful, etc.. Any attitude can be conveyed as literary tone. Tone tells the readers how they should interpret a literary work, and how they should feel about it. It also creates a mood.
Mood - A literary element that evokes certain feelings in readers, through words and descriptions. Mood is created through setting, tone, and diction. Mood helps emotionally attach readers to the literary work, and can help them fully understand the message being conveyed.
- Setting creates mood through connotations of different physical settings. Sun v. Rain, Day v. Night, and Winter v. Summer.
- Tone also creates mood in that tone itself is an emotional attitude, designed to create emotions in the readers. If the writer approaches the theme or subject cheerfully, it sets a cheerful mood.
- Diction can be used to create mood through word choice and syntax.
Voice - The form/format through which a narrator tells a story. Voice shows the readers whose eyes they are seeing the narrative through, and gives personality. It can also help readers determine the reliability or a narrator. Types of voice include:- Author’s Voice - The style an author uses in a particular piece of writing
- Character’s Voice - The main character’s voice, how they view the world. Can be used in first or third person.
- Unreliable Voice - Unreliable and biased, may try to deceive readers. Told in first person, often talking directly at readers. Similar to unreliable narrator.
- Epistolary Voice - A series of documents (letters, diary entries, etc) compiled together to form a story. May use the voices of multiple people, and may not have a narrator at all.
All definitions can be found here.Day one will be the bulk of the lesson. It will begin with a hook, discussing mood and tone in music. Students will then read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and make any annotations as they are reading, though this is not required. I have attached my own annotated copy. The teacher will be discussing the literary elements listed above in context of the Edgar Allan Poe story (and possibly Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find). This Schmoop article can be useful in guiding discussion.
Day two will be focused on students exploring the material. They will participate in a popcorn sharing exercise as well as filling out a graphic organizer. They will also be participating in a 5 minute essay to check for understanding, and will have time to share if they so desire. The teacher will then introduce the summative assessment for this lesson and introduce them to some digital drawing software. Students will then have time to explore the software and begin organizing their thoughts on how they would like to do the project.
Day three will be devoted to the assessment. Students will then have the entire of the class period to explore the drawing applications and begin working on their digital images. The teacher should be walking around, making sure students are staying on task. At the end of this lesson, students will fill out their checklists, and based on where everyone in the class is, the official due date of the project will be set.
Handouts
Word Web Organizers
Copies of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will have instructions explaining what I am looking for in their digital imaging. One of the topics being focused on is diction, a literary device that is focused on attention to detail. The discussion on “The Tell-Tale Heart” will be primarily teacher-driven, as these students prefer teacher-directed discussion.
Microscope: Students will be given the chance to read and annotate “The Tell-Tale Heart” on their own, allowing them to search through the material before it is discussed as a class. They will also be working on the assessment on their own, allowing them to work out what they want to do without the pressure of a group.
Puppy: This whole lesson focuses on feelings and emotions, something the puppy students relate to heavily. There will also be teacher-led class discussions, and a popcorn cooperative learning activity, where students can bounce ideas off of each other. Despite the assessment being completed individually, the students will have an opportunity during the work day to discuss the project with their peers and work on it in a social setting.
Beach Ball: The assessment for this lesson is completely up to the student’s imagination, despite having a checklist to follow. It is up to the student’s interpretation on how they want to convey emotion through a typographical image. They also have a chance to read “The Tell-Tale Heart” and interpret it how they see fit, which they can then share with the rest of the class during the discussion.
Rationale: It is important to consider a variety of learners in the classroom, and to be able to adhere to each of them in some way. Group discussions and working in a social setting allows students to foster social interactions and engage with their peers. Understanding feelings and emotion in literary works will help students understand the importance of conveying meaning without misunderstanding.
Standard 6 - Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative:
Section I – checking for understanding strategy during instruction
To check for understanding, students will write a five minute essay where they will all be given a broad scene and they must use descriptive words to give the scene either a light or dark feel. Students can volunteer to share these with the class, but I will be checking all of them.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
Students will self-evaluate their digital image using a checklist, checking for things such as whether or not they are using descriptive wording that aligns with the feeling they are trying to convey. The teacher will be using a checklist with a comment section.
Summative:
Digital Imaging - Students will pick a feeling and create a typographical digital image that conveys this feeling. All of the components, including words, color, and overall picture should reflect the feeling being displayed.
Rationale: The five minute essay will allow students to display their understanding in a written and creative setting, not just listing what they have learned. They will also be able to self-assess giving them a level of responsibility for their own learning. The final assessment will prove that they understand that different words provoke different moods and tones.
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
Students will know diction, tone, mood, voice, the importance of theme and symbolism, and the significance of time.
MLR or CCSS or NGSS
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: Grade 11-12
Domain: Writing
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
Standards:3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
c. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution).
d. Use precise word and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
Facet: Organize
Rationale: Students will understand how diction and word choice create and alter narrative tone and mood, and will be able to display that knowledge in a piece of typographical artwork. Students will be able to literally illustrate a mood using various fitting words.
Standard 8 - Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: Five minute essay exercise wherein students will be given a scene and should try to use descriptive words to alter tone (e.g. using words with good vs. bad connotations)
Logic: Word web will be used to organize a variety of feelings/tones and words with connotations that fit the broader topics.
Visual: The assessment for this lesson is a digital typographical image using different words to evoke a certain feeling.
Musical: The hook involves discussions of music and how certain songs invoke different feelings.
Intrapersonal: This lesson's assessment is to be done individually, given students to reflect on their interpretations of tones/feelings and convey them in an artistic manner.
Interpersonal: Popcorn sharing in which students call on other students to continue sharing gets the whole class involved in a singular activity.
Naturalist: The scene used in the verbal activity will be connected to nature.
SAMR: Students will be using a digital drawing tool or app, such as MS Paint, to create their digital images. Many of the art program tools help this reach the Augmentation level of the SAMR model.
Rationale: The content will reach each of the multiple intelligences in some way, allowing students to have a variety of connections to the learning material. Students will be introduced to digital imaging software and will get a chance to explore creating digital artwork.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: Students will be fostering creativity by creating pieces of digital artwork. Students will gain an understanding of how precise diction can help to avoid misunderstandings in their day-to-day lives. Students will be given the chance to work on their individual projects in a social setting, allowing them to gain inspiration from their peers.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: Students will be using digital imaging software to create their artwork. They will be choosing the mood for their project on their own, and will be self-assessing themselves. Students will be exposed to many different learning styles and intelligences designed to reach a variety of students. The formative assessments will allow the teacher to see where students are in their understanding of the content.